From 93e431abd3e8bad89f076a2beab7b1e4598985c7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jan Niklas Hasse <jhasse@bixense.com>
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:25:27 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Fall back to $builddir/target when target lookup fails

When $builddir is set in the manifest, passing "foo" on the command
line now checks for a target named "foo" first, then falls back to
"$builddir/foo" before reporting an error.
---
 src/ninja.cc                                  |  10 ++
 tests/builddir_target/test_builddir_target.py | 119 ++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 129 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 tests/builddir_target/test_builddir_target.py

diff --git a/src/ninja.cc b/src/ninja.cc
index 171d6f0b..0b17dc1f 100644
--- a/src/ninja.cc
+++ b/src/ninja.cc
@@ -331,6 +331,16 @@ Node* NinjaMain::CollectTarget(const char* cpath, string* err) {
   }
 
   Node* node = state_.LookupNode(path);
+  if (!node && !build_dir_.empty()) {
+    string builddir_path = build_dir_ + "/" + path;
+    uint64_t builddir_slash_bits;
+    CanonicalizePath(&builddir_path, &builddir_slash_bits);
+    node = state_.LookupNode(builddir_path);
+    if (node) {
+      path = builddir_path;
+      slash_bits = builddir_slash_bits;
+    }
+  }
   if (node) {
     if (first_dependent) {
       if (node->out_edges().empty()) {
diff --git a/tests/builddir_target/test_builddir_target.py b/tests/builddir_target/test_builddir_target.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..583357ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/builddir_target/test_builddir_target.py
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+
+"""Integration test for target lookup with builddir fallback."""
+
+import os
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+
+NINJA_PATH = os.path.abspath("./ninja")
+
+
+class BuilddirTargetTest(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Test that targets can be found via $builddir fallback."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.test_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="ninja_builddir_target_test_")
+        self.original_dir = os.getcwd()
+        os.chdir(self.test_dir)
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        os.chdir(self.original_dir)
+        shutil.rmtree(self.test_dir, ignore_errors=True)
+
+    def _run_ninja(self, *args):
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [NINJA_PATH] + list(args), capture_output=True, text=True
+        )
+        return result
+
+    def test_builddir_fallback(self):
+        """Passing 'foo' should build '$builddir/foo' when no literal 'foo' target exists."""
+        with open("build.ninja", "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "builddir = out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "rule touch\n"
+                "  command = touch $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "build $builddir/foo: touch\n"
+            )
+
+        result = self._run_ninja("foo")
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, f"Build failed: {result.stderr}")
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists("out/foo"), "out/foo was not created")
+
+    def test_exact_match_takes_priority(self):
+        """A literal target 'foo' should be preferred over '$builddir/foo'."""
+        with open("build.ninja", "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "builddir = out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "rule cp\n"
+                "  command = cp $in $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "rule touch\n"
+                "  command = touch $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "build foo: touch\n"
+                "build $builddir/foo: cp foo\n"
+            )
+
+        result = self._run_ninja("foo")
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, f"Build failed: {result.stderr}")
+        # Only the exact-match target should have been built; out/foo depends on
+        # foo so if ninja built out/foo both would exist, but requesting just
+        # "foo" should only build the literal target.
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists("foo"), "foo was not created")
+        self.assertFalse(
+            os.path.exists("out/foo"),
+            "out/foo should not have been built when exact 'foo' exists",
+        )
+
+    def test_no_builddir_no_fallback(self):
+        """Without builddir, an unknown target should still fail."""
+        with open("build.ninja", "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "rule touch\n"
+                "  command = touch $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "build bar: touch\n"
+            )
+
+        result = self._run_ninja("nonexistent")
+        self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+        self.assertIn("unknown target", result.stderr)
+
+    def test_fallback_with_subdirectory(self):
+        """Fallback should work for paths with subdirectories."""
+        with open("build.ninja", "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "builddir = out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "rule touch\n"
+                "  command = mkdir -p `dirname $out` && touch $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "build $builddir/sub/bar: touch\n"
+            )
+
+        result = self._run_ninja("sub/bar")
+        self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, f"Build failed: {result.stderr}")
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists("out/sub/bar"), "out/sub/bar was not created")
+
+    def test_fallback_miss_still_errors(self):
+        """When the target isn't found even under $builddir, an error is reported."""
+        with open("build.ninja", "w") as f:
+            f.write(
+                "builddir = out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "rule touch\n"
+                "  command = touch $out\n"
+                "\n"
+                "build $builddir/foo: touch\n"
+            )
+
+        result = self._run_ninja("nonexistent")
+        self.assertNotEqual(result.returncode, 0)
+        self.assertIn("unknown target", result.stderr)